Typewriter

Pumped
Reams of paper sit upon my desk accordioned untidily, dimpled where the cat stood or sat too long. The wastepaper basket was full of crumbled balls, reflecting the topography of the Nepali adventure I am trying to re-count. The heavily grained desk of golden oak supports a range of dictionaries and thesaurus’s, any one of which was heavy enough to use as a doorstop in a windstorm. An old Underwood typewriter sits, holding court, in the midst of all this, enamel black, with chrome edged keys and struts which depress at the tap of a fingertip. The radio blares, God Bless the Child Who’s Got His Own…as I formulate the saga of a heroine seeker, lead by two caramel colored Nepali boys, toward the foothills of the Himalayian Mountains.
The spindles holding the black ribbon snag in the clip-like opening which holds them taunt. Adjusting the tape turns my nails blue-black. I brush the hair from my eyes decorating the tip of my nose. Dirty business this writing. I tear another sheet from the rubber roller and crumple it with a sigh. “Damn, irascible machine don’t you have a soul? Give Mama something! Anything” I whine.
Scared by the abruptness of my outburst, and the carriage's leap left, the scared-y-cat is propelled to the floor, sending a half-stack of unsullied paper to ground, covering my patent-leather pumps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKNtP1zOVHw
Enjoy...while you read..Billy Holiday

Royal, Underwood, Remington, Corona... So many well-loved brands no longer around. Great nostalgic piece. Loved the part about reference books. Reminded me of how hard research used to be in libraries. Now it's all at our fingertips with a search. Billie, Queen of the blues, although I have a sweet spot for Miss Peaches, personally. Congratulations on your win!

A fine narrative- representation of that age. I've had some experience with the nice old typewriter, loved the loud tap-tapping sound of the tough keys. Very descriptive and interesting!! love to you Debbie!!!

Hi Deb,
It has been some time since I have been here. Just dropping in to say hello. I am going to Vancouver in July to meet my daughter. Full circle. I really enjoyed this prose. I learned to type of a manual typewriter. Can you believe it - with where we have come to today.
Elaine

My "spidey" sense is tingling. Are you okay? Not sure if you believe in these things, intuition, but .... please, be extra careful driving ... are you well, sniffles? You can just comment here, I'll check. I know you're busy and that is a good thing, this is something a bit different. Hugs, Dee

Your penned words put a smile on my face. Memories of an old typewriter clicking away, and never fails that finger tips get smudged with blue-black ink fixing the tape that twist and keys that stick. 'The Underwood typewriter sits, holding court.' What an image it brings to my mind. Oh how i hated typing with those typewriters. Nicely done Debbie for this contest. Warm Smiles, Connie

I like the last verse much better, nice and tight. Hey wrote you a poesy, not as long as my crown... hmmm... beginning the think the slang verb of that word applies to that form (I got crowned by a sonnet. Ouch!) Anyways, thinking of you, grabbed an hour, that's it till Monday night. HUGS

I looooooooooove the word dimpled! PERFECT. So enjoyed the drop by, such a WARM piece. I say warm because it makes me smile, as it would any writer who LIVED this. Though I did NOT (lol) write wearing pumps, I wrote and still write either barefoot or wearing the ugliest slippers on the planet. Love, Dee. Only one hmmm... maybe break up the last sentence, make it two? But I'm nitpicking for this truly is lovely. :)